FEAT: Add ability to input `user@host.com` manually when using `:SSHConnect`

[zeromask1337]

:SSHConnect command fails silently after "Connecting to hostname" and ignores user specification for raw hostnames

Issues

1. User ignored for raw hostnames: :SSHConnect user@hostname uses local username instead of specified user for IPs/hostnames not in ~/.ssh/config
2. Silent failures: No error messages when connections fail, leaving empty mount directories
3. No debugging tools: Impossible to troubleshoot connection issues

Expected vs Actual

Expected:

• :SSHConnect user@host authenticates as specified user
• Clear error messages for failures
• Failed connections clean up empty directories

Actual:

• :SSHConnect remoteusername@[raw server ip] connects as local user localusername
• :SSHConnect mystand creates empty ~/mnt/mystand directory with no feedback
• Manual ssh commands work but plugin fails silently

Reproduction

1. Run :SSHConnect remoteusername@[raw server ip]

2. Connection succeeds but uses wrong user (local username instead of remoteusername)

3. Have host in ~/.ssh/config

4. Run :SSHConnect host

5. Creates empty ~/mnt/host/ directory, no error shown

Environment

• Neovim 0.10+
• macOS/Darwin
• OpenSSH

Proposed Fixes

• Fix user handling in authentication for raw hostnames
• Add persistent error display and debug logging
• Implement proper cleanup of failed mount directories
• Add :SSHDebug and :SSHTest commands

20-12-2025_sEtMxmQh.mp4

[uhs-robert]

This issue mixes a few feature requests with legitimate bug/UX problems, so I’m splitting it for tracking.

Feature request: Add ability to input user@host.com manually when using :SSHConnect

:SSHConnect currently accepts either no argument (selects from ~/.ssh/config) or a Host alias from ~/.ssh/config. It does not parse ad-hoc inputs like user@host.com by design.

Workaround: Add a Host entry to your SSH config and connect via the alias.

I understand the convenience of one-off connections and user specification (i.e, root), so I’m open to adding support for user@host as an optional override, but it’s not currently implemented. Might be a good idea to add this to the keymap approach as well to be able to input custom user.

Bugs / improvements (tracked separately)

• BUG: Connection/mount failures from :SSHConnect when a host is not found are not surfaced (no stderr/exit code), and the plugin can leave empty mount directories behind.
• FEAT: Add debug logging (a config flag and a :SSHDebug command to toggle).
• FEAT: Add a :SSHTest preflight command to show resolved parameters and the exact commands/exit codes for a given host.

For the remainder of this thread, I’ll be treating this as the user@host feature request, and I’ll link the new issues once created.

[uhs-robert]

Created issues #10, #11, and #12 in reference to this report.